135 responses to ““We missed the call.””

There were several missed calls for both sides, speaking as a Bama fan. While I agree he should have probably been flagged – not sure that he tried to go head to head – I think Dial is just a lot bigger, check this one out. Bama player got the personal foul on this…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze9FrbEBp9k
Either way, it was a hard fought game. Kudos to UGA

I don’t say this to be a prick, but intention is irrelevant. I didn’t notice too much chippiness out of the players, (with the exception of one of our guys getting flagged and subsequently chewed out by our coaches, both the flag and the asschewing were warranted) but I do agree with you that it was probably not intended. Now go kick some Notre Dame ass and make the SEC proud!!

Thought the exact same thing about their comments section. How some of them were saying it wasn’t even helmet-to-helmet is beyond me. Not sure of his intention or what the definition of a defenseless player is, but helmet-to-helmet is pretty clear there.

It definitely should have been a foul. Ogletree put more shoulder into his hit on McCarron than Dial did on Murray. And it’s not like Murray was ducking his head, so a hit intended for his chest ended up being a hit to the head. That’s understandable. Murray was jogging along and made an easy target for Dial. Either the intention was for Dial’s helmet to contact Murray’s chin, or Dial is just awfully clumsy and uncoordinated.

He’s a freshman and I love him as a player and seems like a good kid too. Convinced we will hear his name a lot over next couple of years in a Brandon Boykin type way. Emotions of the big game probably, but yes he should sit.

This man is already hedging. It seems cut and dried to me. Look I get it that the next game is big, but if you’re going to diet in between meals just don’t bother. That said, there is one more angle to this which is the publicity it has gotten. We’all see if it’s enough.

If Alabama had been flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct/targeting a defenseless player, would UGA have retained possession? If so, that would be quite a game-changer, given what transpired following the interception.

And another thing: watch the 2nd-and-2 play Alabama runs just over midfield following that interception. Maybe I am foggy on the rulebook concerning intentional grounding but how is THAT not called on McCarron when he launches a mortar shot into the 2oth Row after being pressured through the A-Gaps? I mean, it did not appear in doubt.

If that is whistled Bama is facing 3rd-and-about 7, and maybe the FG never goes on the board. You think those three points were not big? The entire face of the game changes because Saban no longer has reason to run the 2-pt. play down 21-13.

Then, run out the logical sequence of events and the game is 28-28 with that final possession to UGa. All things playing out as they did, which of course who knows given different variable. But … ouch!

For us all to obsess on a missed call is not worthy of the game that was played. It won’t deflect the hurt nor change the score. It seems the ref was blocked from the h-h shot and there was no reason to flag the play when he missed that part. The league will take care of it , but it would be sportsmanlike for the Bama player to state to Murray there was no intention to hurt. The liability placed on the hit is not unfounded, but to cut Bama’s team up because of an unintended h-h is just a waste of angst.

Why do I continue to say unintended? Because Aaron would not be waking up until this week if he intended to blast him in the head. Same reasoning goes with ‘Tree’s hit.

Aaron was very slow to get up and the official was right there. I don’t care if the hit affected the game or not it is illegal for a reason and if you selectively enforce then you allow certain teams to get away with dirty play. Two players this year were suspended under the same circumstances what would you say to them?

The rule doesn’t require intention to hurt. Knowing nothing about Dial, I would assume that he did not intend to cause Murray to suffer a traumatic brain injury. You think he deserves a lollipop for that noble position?

The rule says you don’t go helmet to helmet and Dial did. Arguing that Dial only meant to knock the crap out of Murray, but not kill him is a curious position to take.

If he woke up later in the week (as I stated) then he wouldn’t be dead, would he and knocking the crap out of somebody is part of the game (no, I’m not saying it’s ok to take any kind of head shot). Don’t rachet a statement about personality and intent into something not said. And Debby, no one is proposing selective enforcement. I maintain that the block was legal because the ball had been intercepted, but many earlier indicated through their angst that they didn’t know the rule.

Makes no difference about opinions, folks, since the head office will decide whether it was illegal or not. Me? I’ll try not to introduce more than one way to look at any play in this angst milieu. I should have known better.

Punishment should fit the crime. It’s a helmet-to-helmet hit that should have gotten a 15-yard flag, but you cannot suspend the player for the biggest game in a lifetime. That is completely unreasonable and is not a proportionate response.

And to those who are saying that if other players have been suspended a game then this guy must also be – you are ignoring that there are degrees to things in life, it is not all black and white.

Being suspended for Western Carolina or Ole Miss is nowhere near the same as the National Title game. It’s absurd to suggest a suspension from the title game just because that happens to be the next game.

So maybe they should change the rules to say the player sits for “the next unimportant game.” Would that be more up your alley? Rules are rules. After AJ Green got suspended for FOUR GAMES for selling his own jersey (and thereby partially causing one of the worst UGA seasons I can remember), I’ll be damned if I’m gonna overlook something another team’s player does that CLEARLY warrants a suspension based on the rules and prior precedent, especially when we’re at the receiving end. It’s like we’re getting screwed twice: once with AJ Green’s absurd suspension and once with them letting another kid off the hook for an absurd play that under any other circumstances would most definitely result in a suspension.

You’re right, Bobby, it ain’t all black and white. CBS ran a full-color video replay about 8 times of Dial running 5 yards to deliver a brutal hit on a guy looking the other way, well after the ball was thrown.

Fuck that guy. A suspension’s too good for him. I hope he never sees a football field again.

Selective punishment? I don’t think so. He gets to play just because he is a senior? He could have ended Murray’s career. No way in hell Saban lets this kid miss the game. Make him sit and fire the referee who missed the call. I don’t know how the hell he missed it because I saw it from the endzone second deck.

Proportionate in whose eyes? This is always a subjective opinion. This is why the exact penalty is fixed (ie holding is 10). I think to start making exceptions for a bowl is bad precedent. And it smacks of Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl 2 yrs ago.

So if dude walks in a liquor store and blows away a clerk who is 70 years old, he should get less time in prison than he would for killing a 30 year old clerk. Is that what you mean by proportionate Bobby?

I agree, don’t want to get the two fanbases into a war over this, they should enjoy the memories of a great game. Both of those calls regarding the eye gouging and the needless hit on Am should have been flagged, and both players should be punished. No place for that in football. While we all agree the hit on AM was missed, the referee was standing right there and I cannot see how he missed it. Obviously calls get missed in every game and we cannot debate all of them. This game turned on so much more than those situations.

If you’ve never lived in Alabama, you will question my intelligence and judgement. Slive lives and works in Birmingham. I would be shocked if he suspends Dial. (I was going to say, “No way he suspends Dial”).

In games like this one, there are always going to be questionable or missed calls. The eye gouging was missed and deserved a penalty and the Dial hit was also a clear penalty in my mind. In terms of invoking a suspension, the league hasn’t been consistent in how they apply this punishment all year, so why try to make an example at this point of the season – let him play. The real question in my mind is what (if anything) will happen to the official who watched the cheap shot happen less than 10 yards away and didn’t throw a flag? Why the hell isn’t anyone talking about his “punishment”?

There is only one word for that play: chicken shit. That was an effort to remove the quarterback from the game with a cheap shot. Whether it was within the rules or not it was a chicken shit move and if the shoe was on the other foot the howls would be unbearable. Mainly cause your guy wouldn’t have gotten up.

Definitely not chicken shit but not in the classical use of the term, since chicken shit moves are rarely that violent. . And no way you can make a tasty chicken salad out of it. Except possibly in Alabama.

And that is the relevant point. Being called a penalty in the game has already been shown to not be a pre-requisite for a suspension. I also think CMR should sit Dawson for the bowl game, no place for his actions in football either. We do not need the SEC to do it for us, it is against our code. These players have to be disciplined, and publicly.

You’re a good dude, BD. Your comments on this blog are usually well thought out and always welcome. But this comment is a lesson in rationalization: ‘nasty but not dirty’? Come on.

As to your supposition that Dial will be suspended… there’s no chance in Hell that will happen. Absolutely none. If he is, I’ll make sure to post a public mea culpa on this blog, but it ain’t happening.

Concussion are very serious injuries in sports. They can have long lasting impacts. Intentional or unintentional does not matter and is not a factor in the rule. Refs can not question players before a jury of peers and ask did you do it on purpose. This is football and it is on a time track. But safety is the most important rulea and factor in any sport at any level. Does not matter about the size of the players either. If you leave your feet and go above the shoulders, you should be flagged and possibly ejected. Head inuries are damn freaking serious. They can not be tolerated and does not make a damn who the player is, the game, or the damn score. It is all about safety!!!!
Pushing is one thing,but going to the head is a different matter. The question I have about the rule is it reviewable. Ritter and Company lost a lot good officiating by missing that play. They are instructed to watch for this on interception. Ref was there, but for some reason he did not see it. Like for him to respond. Did or did you not intentionally miss the call? Well, hell that question does not count either. Look ref, you sit out a few games until you understand this rule and see if you can get your head on a swivel to look for it.
This rule in football is like the rule in baseball. When a pitcher throw high toward the head….you can damn well know the benches will clear. Spent three days at Turner Field in June watching the O’s. First game back for O’s 2nd baseman after dealing with a concussion from sliding into second base. Virtually ended a great player’s career. Was out for over a year and a half. That is a very long time in baseball.
Aaron Murray’s career playing football. And nobody knows what that is or could be. But that does not matter, A concussion could have impacted his life like it did Roberts for a long time. Not the way you want to live your life or play a sport.

I’m not saying concussions aren’t serious or that I want to see Aaron Murray seriously injured.

I think it’s easy for us folks sitting around typing to say how things should have been. The reality is every football player in the country would have taken that shot. In the nfl this is preached every day and fines are still handed out every week.

I did not see this play live. I was at a wedding. :). When I saw the video clip it almost turned my stomach it was so violent. However, I don’t think it was dirty. I think it was a heat of battle kill shot.

Had it been McCarron, I would have been upset, but I would understand that this is football.

I’ll tell you this BD. Your guy’s hit was pretty bad looking. But, one can never tell whether the forbidden motive is present, or it’s just over enthusiasm. However, our Sheldon Dawson got away with a fast one. He intentionally eye gouged a Bama player, and Bama got flagged for the retaliation. Georgia had already been flagged for unsportsmanlike for retaliation.

You are wearing your Bama colored glasses on this one, BD. Maybe it doesn’t matter from a penalty standpoint, but your own language suggests you know exactly what was on Dial’s mind. Sometimes you can make a reasonable assumption as to motive by looking at an the manner an action is performed. As you point out, he was going for “the kill shot” – intending to do harm, not just a tough hit but to eff somebody up when they were not prepared. It is obvious from the trot of AM that he was not even a threat at that point. So dress it up however you want, if one of my kids or friends was involved in that play, on either side, I would be righteous pissed.

He can apologize for the helmet shot to the head. But it doesn’t matter. He is going to get suspended. The hit was dangerous and illegal. It was seen by an outraged national audience and was a hot topic on the halftime show. The Swearinger and Elston hits that drew suspensions pale by comparison, and at least those guys were going for the ball carrier. Now you have an AD basically asking for punishment. So which way do you go if you are Slive? To me it adds up to Dial having played his last game for Alabama. But gimme me a break, it is not like they need him. Dial is not even the starter, right?

Murray should be coached to lay out on the ground for at least five, prime time television minutes after a dirty hit like that. You can bet Slive would get sick of seeing it run over and over and over on the replay, while the team docs saw to Murray. Then maybe the ref would have gotten his due. Sometimes you have to make your case in dramatic fashion…
Still I don’t think Slive should be in the position of judging what wasn’t called on the field. It’s a Pandora’s box he’s already opened, but it needs to be closed. It’s just not a good idea. He will spend all of his time watching film and trying to explain why he doesn’t apply the rule equally to all teams. It should be up to Saban to punish this player..not Slive. Then everyone can judge what Saban’s values are concerning such things….Slive should suspend or fire the ref for a year…that’s what would really change this crooked crap.

No, Murray should have been trained to get right back up and immediately whine to the closest ref like McCarron did on the Ogletree hit. Seemed to work for him. F-ing SEC refs. Felt like Penn Wagers was in disguise reffing that game.

Just watched the DVR of the game and saw the hit again. I don’t care what anyone says, Dial looked for Murray and then took the shot knowing his head was turned. It looked to me, though I cant be sure, that the play was over too. He came off his feet and led with his head. Suspension is warranted IMO.

Only us old farts will get that. That still sticks in my mind including the photo of Granning’s teeth with only the stubs sticking out of the gum next to a blank space between the teeth. Holt should have been banned from football.

In something unrelated, I can’t believe you went to a wedding Saturday. In December. If you weren’t a relatively decent person with insightful posts, I’d think the Senator should ban you just for that. Very disappointed BD, very disappointed.

Okay, I am going to get on here and just let you know that I do not appreciate you trying to justify the actions Mr. Dial. I could argue that Murray just does not remember the hit to the head only that he found himself on the ground without any breath.

I get it. You want to make sure that your trip to Miami is not tarnished so you are going to go to leaps and bounds to make sure that your conscience is clear. Well, I am not having any of it.

You usually are classy on here and I appreciate your comments but this time you are just plain wrong. It was a cheap shot, it was dirty and it was helmet to helmet. You can’t talk about motive because you don’t know. There is a equal chance that is was intentional as it was not intentional. So lets just leave this argument in toilet where it belongs. We know the facts and the facts are that it was a cheap, lame helmet to helmet hit on a defenseless player.

There are Georgia fans on here expressing sentiments for sitting him and playing him.

I’m just saying, “what if he was just playing football?”

Regardless of my thoughts on the subject, we are in an era now where we are on the clock regarding head injuries. We will continue to see after-the-fact penalties, etc. and those will be used to curtail these kinds of hits – regardless of intent.

BS. A lot of reasonable people on this blog have entertained a lot of angles on this. If you want to join BD and call that shot “just football” be my guest, but the conversation hardly has the tone of a mob mentality.

BD has been treated with the same respect he himself brings to this blog….or at least as much respect as the rest of us treat each other….:)

That hit gets replayed a million times on Sportscenter if it’s a punt return and someone lays out a tackler. I guess special teams guys don’t count.

Observations:
1) He did not launch. He got low and drove through, but the legs didn’t “spring” into the hit.
2) His shoulder-pad/helmet caught Murray’s around the bottom of Murray’s facemask and on the side – it was not crown to crown. That doesn’t make it any less violent, but NFL suspension hits usually involve leading with the crown.
3) He drives his shoulder into the hit. Again – brutal, but not leading with the helmet.
4) Murray became a defender once the ball was picked. Normal pocket rules no longer apply. Again – still 15 yards, but blind-siding a QB watching his receiver run for a TD versus jogging towards an opposing player trying to run back a pick are two different contexts.

Will suspending Dial make me any happier? No. It was a football play, not an intent to injure, maim, or go outside the rules. Just my opinion. Definitely worth 15 yards, but hardly worth suspending a player for any game.

Watching it over and over. His shoulder is fully into Murray’s chest. Seems to me he’s attempting to go low and through the body, not high and through the head. There is definitely significant helmet to helmet contact – but I don’t think that’s where Dial was “targeting,” to use the popular term. And that’s the criteria for suspension: clear targeting of the area above the neck.

I never said it wasn’t. I said it didn’t look like a classic “go for the head with intent” shot to me. Big difference, and I went out of my way to make it, just to avoid the classic f-bomb overreactions I expected to get.

Only one problem with your explanation. This exact type of play- a defender on a turnover going after the QB- was a SPECIFIC point of emphasis for the SEC officials this season. Right or wrong, the SEC officials were told not to let these types of plays happen.

They flat out “missed” all sorts of Bama shenanigans. I surely do not want this all to sound like sour grapes, but I have consistently been coming around to the Mayor’s side on some officiating issues per conference “favories.”

I’m very proud of Murray. He took one of the biggest cheap shots I’ve ever seen, got up, dusted himself off, and very nearly lead us to the promised land. He is one tough SOB. Reminds me of Rocky taunting Clubber Lang at the end of Rocky III. “Come on, my grandmother hits harder than that!”

Anybody notice that both Mike Slive and the SEC officials headquarters are located in Birmingham? Tell me Slive didn’t choose the crew he wanted for that game. I’m sure glad they finally threw one flag for unsportsman like conduct on Bama to give some illusion of fairness for the ‘Bammers to fall back on. Ogletree’s hit on A.J. was shoulder to shoulder immediately after he released the ball; shouldn’t even have been called.

The first thing that makes contact is the top of Dial’s helmet into the side of Murray’s facemask. That hit is illegal, regardless of intent, and hits equal to this have garnered suspensions this year. Those are the facts. Intent is irrelevant. The fact that Murray was not concussed is irrelevant.

Are Georgia fans still talking about this? This play did not cost you the game. 340 rushing yards on your defense and a missed field goal did that. A loss stings but let it go. It was a classic game. Dial’s replacement is better than he is so it wouldn’t affect Alabama. But if you insist, fine. Suspend Dial and the Feorgia eye gouger. Then everybody’s happy and we can move on.

How could you and officials miss such a flagrant call and i do not want to hear that everyone is human and makes mistakes you and that whole officiating crew should hand in your resignations and be thankful that aaron murray did not sustain spinal injury causing paralyzation you and crew are pitiful excuses for human. Beings and so is mr slive for letting dial play in championship game while swearinger and other suspended player sit out a game hypocrits all of you.

.Hey quinton would be a shame if 2 irish players chop blocked you so bad that it would blow out your knee and break your leg in two but thats just football huh. Roll irish quinton u r a no good piece of shit dirty player period roll irish roll.

Quote Of The Day

“But outside of that, the biggest advantage you can have is have good leadership, have a veteran football team, and when you’ve got that, it doesn’t matter whether you have spring practice or not. When you don’t have that, it’s tougher, when you don’t have leadership and you don’t have the experience at certain positions.”— Kirby Smart, Dawgs247, 3/31/20